


Easily Proven

by Nadja_Lee



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, On the Run
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-03-02
Updated: 2004-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-23 01:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23003620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadja_Lee/pseuds/Nadja_Lee
Summary: Blair and Jim must deal with Jim's Sentinel status being known and the consequences of that.
Relationships: Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Easily Proven

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to Nancy who betaed this even though she’s not into the Sentinel fandom. Thanks so much, lov *hugs*

Two weeks had passed since Blair had claimed his dissertation on Jim was a fraud. Two weeks since he had been offered to become Jim’s official partner and a week since he had kindly refused, instead seeking access to another University to finish a new thesis there. Given the amazing papers he had already published over the years, three days ago he had received a letter saying he would be allowed to finish his thesis at Wilman’s University. The demands were that he worked more for the University than they normally expected of their Ph.D. students, that he kept in close contact with his professor and that his new thesis had nothing at all to do with Sentinels. A fair bargain in Blair’s mind; he would instead write the cover thesis he had been appointed observer on: a thesis on police society. Slowly everything seemed to settle down in Blair’s world. He had even managed to fully forgive his mom for what she had done, knowing that something would have had to give at some point anyway. He couldn’t have kept delaying his thesis on Jim forever. 

His relationship with Jim had been harder to get back. Instead of a hurt and angry friend who thought he had been betrayed, he had gotten a man so afraid to hurt him in any way his thoughtfulness was beginning to get on Blair’s nerves. Jim fully accepted and supported Blair’s wish to not be his official partner but remain as an observer. Blair was afraid Jim didn’t believe him when he said it was because he loved his job as an anthropologist and because he didn’t ever want to have to kill someone. Instead he was sure that Jim believed it was because of him that Blair had turned the offer down, which was as far from the truth as could be. Blair had known early on that he had fallen in love with Jim, but had also accepted that Jim would remain a friend and nothing else. After all, he had met Jim’s father and that, added with Jim’s years as an officer in the army’s special forces and then the police, didn’t exactly scream that he was open for the possibility of a same-sex life partner. 

“You start at Wilman’s University today, right?” Jim asked Blair from across the dinner table, forcing Blair’s thoughts back to the present. 

“Yes,” Blair nodded as he finished up the breakfast that Jim, like every other meal the last two weeks, had insisted on preparing for them. 

Jim was actually a good cook; his years living alone, in the army and then married to a career woman had taught him well, but Blair liked to do things for his friend and looked forward to the day when Jim would allow him to do things for him again. Which would mean the day when Jim didn’t feel quite so guilty. He knew Jim felt guilt over a lot of things but luckily his survivor instinct would make his guilt withdraw after a while until it only remained as nightmares and fear-based reactions that more often than not disguised themselves as anger. 

“I would like to come with you. See your new office,” Jim said as he began to clean the table and Blair helped him. 

“Sure,” Blair agreed, knowing that, like after having been resuscitated by Jim’s hands after Alex had drowned him, Jim had after Blair’s dismissal from Rainer gone into Blessed Protector mode with a twist, if that was even possible. He hoped he could soon figure out what was troubling Jim so that their relationship could return to the way it had been: more than friends yet so much less than the lovers he secretly wished them to be. 

“Here, Chief,” Jim handed Blair his jacket after they had finished up in the kitchen. 

Soon Jim had driven Blair to the University in his truck, saying he would pick Blair up in the evening so he wouldn’t need his car. Another protector instinct but Blair had wisely not told Jim that but had instead thanked yes for the chance for a lift to and from University. The drive had been relatively quiet, they had talked about nothing much at all and Jim had only held out his arm to protect his Guide once during a particularly sharp turn.  _ Must be getting better _ , Blair thought and hoped he was right. He didn’t mind being protected by Jim, he was used to his Sentinel’s protectiveness, but whenever something really bad happened to him, Jim went into some kind of super-protective mode that lasted for a few weeks. Which, in the end, would really get on Blair’s nerves though he never complained. This was a part of being a Sentinel and after searching so long for one, after loving one for so long, he couldn’t and wouldn’t start yelling at Jim for caring so much for him and for having instincts he couldn’t and in Blair’s opinion shouldn’t suppress. 

Jim parked the car outside the University, as close to the main building of the Anthropology department as he could come. When he looked out the window at the building where his new office was located, Blair couldn’t keep from feeling hesitant and insecure. Completing his research and studies meant a lot to him and he was afraid he would fail; his success rate so far wasn’t that impressive. 

Jim must have heard Blair’s heart beat faster than usual for he smiled reassuringly at him and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze after he had turned off the engine. 

“They’ll love you, Chief.”

“How come you’re so sure of that?” Blair complained, admitting that the thought of going to another University did frighten him. 

He knew the first weeks would be hard; he would have to fight to keep or maybe even win respect from students and professors alike as they would all have heard the rumours about his dismissal from Rainer. 

Jim’s blue eyes shone like blue diamonds that held an ocean of emotions when he looked at him. “Because everyone who meets you does,” Jim said softly, a hand reaching for him but then he seemed to change his mind and exited the car. 

Blair looked confused and a bit sadly after him for a moment.  _ Everyone but you _ , he thought before he took his backpack over one shoulder and exited the car as well. Jim began to walk with him towards the building wherein his new office was located and where he would meet his new professor. They passed several people on the way to the building and they didn’t speak again until they were at the steps of the building. 

“Well, this is my stop,” Blair said with a smile, not sure what to say now. Jim looked seriously at him and Blair had a feeling he might say something really important but then his face closed and when he started to speak again Blair knew the moment was lost. 

Whatever Jim had wanted to say was never spoken. Suddenly his hands flew to cover his ears and his knees gave way under him, making him sink to the ground before Blair’s feet. 

“Jim!” Shocked and worried, Blair knelt beside him, putting his hands on his back to support him while his eyes tried to locate what could have triggered the attack as he began to comfort Jim with sound and touch. “Jim, remember the dials. Turn down the sound.”   
  


“Can’t,” Jim got out through clashed teeth, his body tense with pain. 

He must have had his hearing up higher than usual, probably an instinctive reaction after Alex had killed him at his old University, Blair surmised. Whatever was hurting Jim was still there and Blair again tried to find the source of his distress to ease his partner’s pain that way; they could work on the dials later. People had begun to stop and look at them but one young man caught his attention. He held a folded hand before his month and looked like he was covering a yawn but there was excitement in his eyes. 

“You there!” Blair called towards the man, not sure what else he should say, fighting down his own panic and fear so he could focus on helping Jim. He didn’t want to leave Jim like this to go after the man but so far his touch and soft words didn’t seem enough to bring Jim back. 

“Make it stop,” Jim pleaded, his voice almost too soft to be heard as he curled up into a ball and pressed his hands even closer around his ears in a futile attempt to stop the unwanted and agonizing noise. Blair tried to gather Jim in an embrace but his body was too tense to allow him to do so. 

Blair fought to remain calm while he desperately searched for an answer when the attack stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Blair felt the tension leave Jim’s body and at the same time an excited voice reached his ears, “I knew it!” 

Blair looked up and saw the owner of the voice was the man he had suspected before. His hand was down at his side, crushing something and Blair got a bad feeling as the man looked happily at Jim and him as if they were the answer to life’s biggest questions. He frowned in concern. What in the world had happened? As if the man knew his thoughts he unfolded the hand he had had before his mouth and for a brief second Blair saw the small silver dog whistle before the young man closed his hand again. 

_ Damn!  _ Blair swore silently, beginning to panic. He had to get Jim to safety. He had to…. 

“He heard the dog whistle!” The man said excitedly to the stunned students that had gathered around Jim and Blair, breaking Blair’s panicked line of thought. 

Jim made a pained noise at the loud voice as he fought to get his hearing under control. 

“Dial it down,” Blair mumbled softly as he helped him into a sitting position. Nodding in compliance, Jim took a hand to his head in a classic gesture to try and ease the pain in his mind. 

“I knew it was true. He really  **is** a Sentinel. Thank God I got Catherine to tape this from the other building. Wait till I publish this in the Campus newsletter!” The young man babbled happily but his words made Blair shiver in fear as his attention went from Jim and thereafter returned to the man.

“No!” Blair protested and was torn between trying to catch the fleeing man and stay with Jim. 

“Let him go, Chief,” Jim said softly as he laid a hand on his arm.

“Are you insane? Now everyone will know what you are,” Blair hissed, keeping his voice down even in his anger as he helped Jim back on his feet. The taller man looked pale and shaken but was regaining strength fast.

“Everyone already knows,” Jim said with dark humour in his voice and waved a hand before them and Blair suddenly noticed all the students that had seen what had happened or at least had heard the young man’s words. 

“Go away, there’s nothing to see here,” Blair said to the students, giving them a stern tone that betrayed he had been a teacher for some time. 

The crowd began to dissolve and Blair hoped the situation could still be saved. The students wouldn’t think more about what had happened if the article was never printed. At least he hoped so, but that still left them with the problem of the young student who had just escaped them. 

“Oh, man. I’m so sorry about this,” Blair said softly as he began to help Jim back to the truck with an arm behind his back, the touch the Sentinel’s focus point. 

Already Jim was gaining strength yet still let Blair guide him. “I’m not.”   
  


The soft words made Blair freeze, forcing Jim to a halt as well. He looked confused at Jim. “What? Why?”

“You threw your life’s work away to help protect me,” Jim began, guilt shining in his eyes.

“And I would do it again,” Blair interrupted him, letting the Sentinel know the truth by his body’s reactions.

“I know,” Jim said sadly. 

“I don’t understand,” Blair admitted, frowning in confusion.    
  


“You said it yourself. I am a Sentinel. I protect my tribe and most of all my Guide,” his words were warm now. 

“Yes but…” Blair still wasn’t sure where Jim was heading. The Sentinel cut him off by briefly putting a finger on his friend’s lips. 

“I protect you…Also from your own heart.”   
  


Blair stilled, shocked as the implications of Jim’s words hit him. “You know?”   
  


“That you love me?” Blair gasped but nodded. “I know,” Jim confirmed softly.

“You…” Blair didn’t know what to say as anger rose in him. He knew and had never said anything? All those times where he had longed to hold Jim…all his fears and pain…Still in shock it was now Jim who guided him the rest of the way to the truck as Blair’s mind was filled with a million questions, doubts and fears. 

They drove in silence, Jim focusing on the road and Blair starring unseeing out the window of the car. Before long they were back at the loft. 

“Blair.” 

His name was spoken so lovingly it made Blair turn to look at his friend and saw they were parked outside the loft. 

The entire drive had been a blur of mixed emotions and memories to him. His anger had faded on the way back as he had thought things through. Jim might not have said anything but then Blair hadn’t either. And, thinking back, Blair had had a lot more female lovers over the years they had known each other than Jim had. He hadn’t exactly been putting out signals he would be interested in more than friendship with Jim, which of course had also been his intent to save said friendship. However, Jim had known anyway. Caution made him save the question ‘how did you know?’ to ask Jim some other time. 

“Yes?” he replied to his friend’s calling, knowing that if Jim used his birth name, whatever he was about to say had to be important. 

A sudden fear hit Blair and he hoped Jim wouldn’t ask him to leave…His study on Jim told his mind that it was an irrational fear since Jim himself suffered from severe abandonment anxiety but whoever said the heart was rational? 

“It isn’t safe to love me.”

The softly spoken but serious words made Blair smile.  _ He’s worried about me! _ The thought made Blair want to sigh with happiness and hit Jim for his over-protectiveness at the same time. 

“It’s my risk to take,” Blair replied just as softly. 

Jim shook his head. 

“This isn’t about your heart but about your life. I would never hurt you, but if I have to I’ll break your heart if it means you’re still alive and well.” 

Some of Jim’s old Covert Ops training shone through in the strong and firm statement and the intensity of what lay behind the words had Blair fighting back tears. Jim, the military man, was one part of his friend that Blair had never managed to fully understand because there was little to study. Most of his military records were classified and, without background information, the anthropologist had a hard time predicting Jim’s future actions when in this mode. Though right now all he could think about was that Jim’s protectiveness and fear of the past repeating itself, that he’ll loss yet another love, another person who cared for him, had made them waste so many years…given them both so much doubt and fear.

“I will love you no matter how many times you try to drive me away…You cannot protect me from myself, Jim.”

Jim’s eyes shone with sadness and defeat. “I know.”   
  


“Jim,” Blair said strongly, forcing Jim’s full attention on him. His voice and eyes softened but the truth in his words was unmistakeable, 

“I will always choose to be with you. In life or death. No matter what.” Jim was silent, as if considering his words, listening intensely, scanning his body to read the truth in his words. The silence made Blair nervous. “Unless you don’t want me?” The last was a soft mumble. 

Jim shook his head, denying his fears. 

“It is because I love you I ask you to leave,” he said harshly. With that stunning confession Jim exited the car. 

Recovering quickly, Blair got out as well and stopped Jim with a hand on his arm, making him stop and look at him. He smiled happily at the bigger man, his whole world having been set right with those 3 words of love, everything else phased out and dismissed as unimportant. 

“You love me?”   
  


“Always have.” 

Jim’s whole expression softened at the words and as he looked at him Blair could see the love in his friend’s face and eyes as if it was a physical entity in its own right.

“Then I will never leave you.” The words were strong and certain, no hesitation, no pause. A decision made as easily as one decides to draw another breath. 

Giving in to temptation, Jim pulled Blair close and sought his lips, an endlessly gentle but somehow sad and very intense kiss. Blair leaned into it and laid his arms around Jim’s neck, enjoying this fulfilment of his dreams. 

When they drew apart Jim stroked Blair’s cheek lovingly before his eyes grew serious and he indicated their apartment building with an upward motion of his head. “We have company.” 

Blair instantly tensed, knowing Jim must have heard someone in the loft waiting for them. Jim tried to smile a little to ease Blair’s racing heartbeat. 

“You sure I can’t make you leave? These people aren’t the kind who’ll be our friends. I can heard them talking softly on a cell phone.” Jim focused on the sounds. “They came here to get a Sentinel…the ultimate weapon. They’ll kill the student we saw earlier to keep this under wraps…They’re obviously very well connected to know of him already.” Jim’s face and eyes were very serious as he looked at his Guide, the man he had loved since he had first seen him. “Blair, if you’re with me they’ll take us both.”

  
Blair instinctively embraced Jim again, forcing himself not to panic. ”We can’t outrun them?”   
  


“We can try but innocents will most likely die in the process. This isn’t some rogue operation.” 

Blair knew Jim, with his many years in Covert Ops, would know the difference and trusted his judgement. He also knew the concern for civilian casualties were the Sentinel and the Detective speaking, not the military man or Jim the human being whose worst nightmare was just this; whose every instinct would be to escape by any means necessary. 

Blair had feared this would happen. His dissertation must have reached government ears as well as the press. Some might have backed off after his speech but, with all the resources a government agency had, it was doubtful they wouldn’t at least be a bit suspicious that Jim’s official records fitted Blair’s dissertation so well. They would at least check it out. And if nothing else the stunt the young student had pulled today proved that it was very easy to prove or disprove Jim’s abilities and neither he nor Jim could be alert 24/7. Maybe they should both have left the country after Blair had claimed the dissertation a fraud as Jim had discussed with him but they had agreed that leaving would be the same as writing a large sign that said Jim was indeed a Sentinel. If they waited it out and if no one disbelieved Blair then all would be well. Obviously all the ifs hadn’t come to be. 

“Then I will face your demons with you,” Blair vowed, determined not to fail Jim again and not to lose the love they had just found. At the realization that he would be with Jim, no matter what fate they would meet, his fears settled and a strange calm fell upon him.

Jim’s eyes turned soft and watery, unable to believe the amount of love he had been given. He drew Blair into a big kiss, ignoring the looks cast their way by the few people who saw them. He had never cared what others thought of him and right now it didn’t matter anyway. Soon they would be far from here, one way or another, and he wanted Blair to know how deeply he had always loved him. He tried to put every bit of love, gratitude and humility at Blair’s gift of love and sacrifice into the kiss, knowing that even if they should live forever it would never be enough time for him to do so.

“Then let’s go,” Jim said strongly as they pulled apart and, like in a surreal dream Blair had once had of Jim holding his hand in the Cascade PD hallway, they held hands now as they began to walk up the stairs to the loft and the fate that awaited them. “Ready, cariño ?” Jim asked softly as they stood outside the door to the loft, adding another name to the long list of nicknames he had for Blair. 

“With you I’m ready for anything,” Blair vowed, his voice steady and strong, warmed and calmed by the endearment as he was sure had been Jim’s goal. 

Jim smiled warmly, stealing another kiss before he forced himself to calm down and open the door, remembering all the lessons he had ever taken to become a Covert Ops agent. Since the Sentinel couldn’t protect his Guide by leaving him he would just have to do it any other way possible. Anything to keep Blair alive…and with him. If loving Jim was really what Blair wanted then by any deity Jim knew, he swore he would do his best to keep his love alive, well and close to him at all times. No matter what the future might hold. 

Jim gave Blair’s hand a firm yet loving squeeze before he reluctantly let go of him, needing both hands to defend them should it be necessary. “Stay behind me,” he whispered into Blair’s ear before he drew his gun and positioned himself in front of the smaller man, his body a shield. Jim turned his head, needing to look at his Guide just one more time. Their eyes met and Blair gave him a reassuring smile and his lips formed the words ‘I love you’. Jim nodded and allowed himself one last flash of love and light, smiling softly in return, needing to return the words in case something should go horribly wrong. 

“Love you too,” he replied so softly as not to alert the men inside the loft that Blair only recognized the words by the lip movements yet they still made him shine with happiness. He took a few steps back to allow Jim room to move and fight but still remained ready to spring into action when needed. Despite the adrenaline and fear for Jim’s safety and fate, contentment and peace filled him, unafraid now that he knew the important things had been said and expressed. 

Jim nodded at him then, a sign to say this was it. Then he turned his full attention to the task at hand. He opened the door and walked into the trap he knew was waiting with a calm he had never had before. A calm that was born out of the knowledge that Blair and he at last had admitted their love to each other and would be together till the end. After that nothing else really mattered. 

_ The End _


End file.
